Tag Archives: planning

Make a plan for success

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It’s easy to whinge and moan about not having enough.

Money, time, friends, skills. These things don’t turn up by accident.

A plan will get you on the path to making good things happen.

They are never set in stone. They can change as life takes you in different directions. Reviewing plans is a part of the process of staying on the right track.

But you’ve gotta have one. Avoid it and the weeds will overtake the flowers in your metaphorical garden.

Your direction and purpose will be unclear.

Spend a few minutes working out what you’re going to do today and write it down. This is where it starts.

Realistic expectations are crucial

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The excitement that builds at the start of any new project can be infectious. The idea sparks something in our minds that opens up new possibilities and lines of research. We get into action.

As time goes by and we get down to work, the size of the task can become clearer than it did at the start of the process. And, at this point, it can pay to take a step back.

Are expectations and reality lined up?

Bite off more than you can chew and the outcome can end up being destructive for all involved. You miss deadlines, targets get further away, your mood changes as things get real and you start to beat yourself up for falling behind.

Is your ego taking you on this new journey? I wanted to run a marathon for my 48th birthday with three weeks training (dumb idea for anyone at any age) and, on reflection, I wanted to prove to my ego that I’ve still got it – and I clearly haven’t as one training run has left me on the sidelines for two weeks and counting. 

The reasons why you’re not getting things done to take you towards this new goal can be resistance. This is something we all face and it shows up when there is something real at stake, so, in some cases, this is a sign that we have to dig deeper. 

But once we weigh all this stuff up and set realistic expectations, the energy keeps flowing through us as we work towards the goal and the chances of success increase.

Add systems to increase efficiency

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The more systems I have in place, the better everything is for me. I have a long list of jobs to do most days and I feel demoralised if I don’t get the majority of things ticked off. There’s a regular daily battle between order and chaos in my life and anything I can do to help order win is always a good thing.

Systems and processes make the difference.

My mind works in a lateral, logical way so if I can stay focussed on a task for long enough I’ll always complete it. 

If a disruption happens – the phone goes off, incoming messages ding (I send a lot of direct messages to people every day) or I’m drawn to my inbox – it can be the equivalent of slipping on a banana skin – there’s no going back once you start falling.

If I can reduce the number of decisions I have to make every day, I can increase my outputs and efficiency. Time spent deciding what to have lunch, what to wear, and what job to do first may seem trivial but it adds up and if I don’t have these decisions to make when I sit at my desk, my brain avoids the banana skins. 

Something as simple as knowing what I’m going to wear the next day and eating the same things for breakfast and lunch most days makes a big difference to the flow of the day and the number of things I get done.

Simplicity is also important. Avoiding complexity makes every day run more smoothly and I work really hard at this. I try to avoid complex travel plans where possible and if I have to travel somewhere different I spend time creating a detailed plan with a couple of alternatives to keep the stress levels low. 

What systems and processes do you use to stay on track?

Order or chaos?

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Everyone prefers a sense of order in their life rather than chaos – generally lower levels of anxiety, better outcomes to projects, work delivered on time, etc – but how many of us actually achieve that state?

How many days start the right way with goals being met and tasks ticked off to-do lists but then go off-track faster than a downhill ski racer taking a tumble at top speed?

It might be the phone notification for a new message, an unplanned inbound call, or some web research that opens up the slippery slope of the internet.

Whatever form a distraction takes, it becomes difficult to get back to the task you were working on once it hits. Your brain reacts well to being focussed and taking deliberate steps as part of your plan, but it loves the distraction even more. 

You then have to make a decision to get back on track – one that would not have had to happen if you’d avoided the distraction in the first place. 

And it’s in the removal of decisions as we go through each day that lies, to me, the secret of achieving a better order/chaos balance. 

I plan the parts of the day that need focussed work and avoid decisions in these slots in oder to deliver my best. 

The fewer decisions I have to make, the higher the likelihood I’ll achieve more in the time I have available. 

If I have order to the way I work – processes in place, systems to work to, proper scheduling and a set of really simple rules to follow – chaos is off the table. This way, everything continues to move forward and this is always the goal.

Stick to the plan

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I met Paul (not his real name) a couple of years ago. He came up to me after a talk I gave at UTS here in Sydney to one of the Marketing masters degree courses. He was looking to start his own marketing agency and wanted me to mentor him. I think he was 21 at the time.

We stayed in touch and had a few excellent conversations. He was full of positivity and extremely well-researched in all aspects of personal development in a way that really impressed me – he knew what it was all about and was putting the pieces together.

Paul messaged me after our last conversation about six months ago to say he’d been made redundant from a role at a company that didn’t match his values and I gave him some straightforward advice on what path I felt would work for him to follow long term.

My sense at the time was that he didn’t take this well. I went against the course that his passion was suggesting was the right one. The route I mentioned would take much longer timewise but would be a real win for him in the long term based on my own experiences and knowledge.

But I’m not him, right? And I’m not in my twenties, champing at the bit to get paid the big bucks and make my mark on the world…

I took a call from him yesterday to say that my suggested path was the one he was now taking and he had started his dream job yesterday. This made me so pleased for him after a tough time mentally getting this point.

But the thing it highlighted more than anything is that the man with a plan is the most dangerous kind.

I had the feeling that Paul was going to struggle to get his life on track as the ‘follow your passion’ brigade was blowing their bugles and calling out to him, but he stuck with his plan and landed the right opportunity in the end.

And his call to say thank you for my help made my day. The fact that he did this means I’ll always keep him on my radar and look out for more ways I can help him.

Well done, mate.